Improved lever-buckles



UNITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

LEONARD A. SPRAGUE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED LEVER-BUCKLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,7 I9, dated March 7,1865.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD A. SPRAGUE of New York, in the county andState of Nev York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLever-Buckles and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference beA ing had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1, 3, and are isometicalperspective views of buckles constructed in accordance with this myinvention, and Figs. 2, 4, and 6 sectional views of the same.

Lever-buckles were heretofore made ot' iron or brass exclusively. Inthose made of iron the lever was liable to break unless made of suchbulk as to admit of an aperture being bored through for the purpose offastening to such aperture the hinge-bar.V This, it will be understood,produced a very clumsy and expensive buckle. Those made of brassentirely were defective in the frame, because of their liability to bendunder the pressure of the lever upon the strap. I have remedied this bycombining the two metals in one bucklethat is to say, by making theframe of iron and the lever of brass. The frame I make in one piece,with the hinge-bar of cast-iron rendered malleable, and the lever I makeof a strip of brass doubled and bent over the hinge-bar. In this way Iam enabled to produce in the most economical manner the strongest formof buckle, havin g an inexible iron frame and a light yet strong lever,the whole having a pleasing appearance, and being altogether a moremerehantable article than any heretofore made. The lever need notnecessarily be made of a double-folded strip. Being made of a exiblematerial, it may be made of a single strip corrugated at the hinge-barso as to inclose wholly or partially the hinge-bar, as hereinafter morefully explained. Instead of corrugating the metal strip of which thelevei` is composed, portions of the lever may be cut out and the part orparts thus cut may be bent or looped over and around the axis, or thelever may be secured to the axis by means of independent staples rivetedor otherwise fastened to the lever. If the frame be made ofsheet-metal-that is to say,struck up from brass or other sheet-metaltheimpinged surface, viz., the interior front of the frame-should be madeby turning down the edge ofthe metal, the object being to give strengthand lightness to the buckle while it is made to hold straps of variousthicknesses. For greater economy of and neatness in construction, Iprefer to make the frame in one piece with the hinge-bar, whether thesame be cast or cutand stamped, by this means avoiding the necessity ofdrilling or boring holes into the side of the frame, and riveting thehinge-bar in and to the frame. Certain kinds of buckles I provide with aroller made of a bent piece of sheet-metal, around which the strap issecured, and thus avoid friction and prevent wear upon the loop ofleather or other material by which the buckle is fastened to the articleupon which it isA intended to be used.

To enable others to make and use my iuvention, I shall now proceed todescribe the manner iu which the same is or may be carried into effect,and referring to the drawings, Figs. l and 2 show a buckle composed oftwo parts-that is, a frame, A, and alever, B. They are both made ofsheet-metal eut and struck up by means of suitable machinery, out of ashe-et of brass or other ductile material. The'frame A is made in or outout of one piece with the hinge-bar G. The front bar, or the bar whichis impingedby the lever, is corrugated at a, so as to present to thefront edge, b, of the lever a bevel-edge, for the purpose hereinbeforementioned. The lever is provided in the rear with a loop, within Whichis held the strap whereby it is fastened to the article to which thebuckle is applied, and it is fastenedto the frame by being corrugated atc, in a line parallel with the edge b b, folding over and partiallyaround the hinge-bar C. To prevent its becoming detached, a small tongueis cut at d, which is bent downward so as to pass under and partiallyaround the hinge-bar, and thus rmly close upon it. Figs. 3 and 4represent a buckle made in a similar manner, the frame of which may beof castiron or wrought in sheet metal. The lever is shown to becorrugated inversely to the former, it passing under and half way aroundthe hinge-bar D. It is provided on either side of the corrugation withprojecting lips, m m m, two of which are on one side of the eorrugationand the middle one on the other side. These lips, being made of allexible substance, are bent over and around the bar D, as shown.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I liu-ve represented n small buckle made of brass andiron combined. The frame F is enst in one piece with tlir hingebztr H,z1nd annealed in order to giwl tfiemetal the necessary toughness. Upon thehinge-bar is Xed the lever L, which is coinposed of a folded strip ofbrass. rllhe tailpiece is punched out, leaving :1- burin the rear Whichis surrounded by :t roller, t, made of a bant sheet of bra ss.

Having thus desaribed my invention and the manner in which the saine isor may be c irried into effect, I claiml. A lever-buckle in whichthelever is coinposed of it single strip and secured to the binge-bnr bymeans of staples cut out of the body of the lever, substantially as setforth.

2. In lever-buckles operating as described, forming the frame of sheetmetal and corru- .gitting or bending` the front or impinged bar hereofso us to present abevel surface to the Trontedge of the lever7substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihuve signed my naine i0 this specification beforetwo subscribing witnesses.

LEONARD A. SPRAGUE.

Vitnesses CnAs. T. DE FOREST, JOHN It. MoRHoUs.

